US strikes Iran again as Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis deepens

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 13, 2026 03:14 IST

The US military said it launched another round of strikes against Iran overnight into Monday, saying the action was meant "to degrade their ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz". The strikes followed US attacks on Sunday after Iran hit a container ship in the strategic waterway a day earlier.

The latest exchange pushed tensions higher across the region, with Iran responding to the earlier US strikes by attacking Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman. The violence has also put talks between Tehran and Washington, meant to secure a permanent end to the war, at risk of collapsing.

On Sunday, the United States attacked Iran after the Iranian strike on the container ship set it ablaze and left one crew member missing. Later in the day, the US carried out more strikes. The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait told Iran's IRNA news agency that projectiles hit military targets and there were no casualties. Explosions were also heard in Bandar Abbas on the coast and in Hajiabad to the north.

A US official said a few strikes targeted missile and air defence systems, as well as paramilitary Revolutionary Guard boats at a couple of locations, to further reduce Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss military operations publicly.

The US military had earlier said it struck about 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites. The attacks were heavier than in recent days. The US has now launched three rounds of airstrikes in the past week over attacks on ships passing through the strait along a route off Oman to avoid Iranian territorial waters. President Donald Trump told NBC's Meet the Press, "We bombed the hell out of them last night." Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that a navy officer was killed.

Iran retaliated by attacking countries in the region that host US military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and could charge vessels for passing through it. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament and a main negotiator, wrote, "The era of one-sided deals is OVER," and added, "We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking." Iran said the strait was closed until calm is restored and that it could target "additional enemy bases in the region" if more attacks followed. The US military and Trump said the strait remained open.

The waterway has become a major point of dispute as Iran and the US approach the midpoint of a 60-day interim deal aimed at ending the war permanently. About a fifth of traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war. The US military said more than 140 ships had transited in the past week, while a multinational body overseen by the US Navy said traffic was continuing "at reduced levels" off both Oman and Iran. Before the war, nearly 140 vessels travelled through the strait each day.

Missile alerts sounded across several Gulf Arab countries. Qatar's military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire, and explosions were heard in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates. Qatar's Interior Ministry said three people, including a child, were wounded by shrapnel from the interceptions. Alerts also sounded in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Kuwait's Defence Ministry said three land border posts in the north and an offshore drilling platform of the Kuwait Oil Company were damaged, with one worker wounded. Jordan's state news agency reported that three Iranian missiles struck areas across the country, causing minor damage but no injuries.

Oman's state news agency said drones struck sites in an area on the waterway, a day after Oman and Iran held talks on the strait and agreed to continue discussions. The strait lies in the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman. Oman then summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the strikes, its first such move since the war began, and called Iran's actions "irresponsible".

The Cyprus-flagged container ship struck by Iran suffered "significant engine room damage", the US military said. Oman's maritime authority said 23 crew members were rescued, but one person was missing. India's foreign ministry identified the missing crew member as an Indian national. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been sailing along Oman's shoreline. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels had "disregarded our warnings" and ignored instructions to follow what it described as an approved route. It added that one vessel "was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop".

Iranian state media later reported US strikes across the country, including in southern Iran in the province closest to the strait and at military sites in a province near Tehran. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, "A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences," according to a statement.

The attacks came as diplomatic efforts continued. Trump suggested last week that the interim deal in the war was "over", but mediators including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt have kept trying to reach an agreement. A regional official involved in mediation said on condition of anonymity that efforts to shore up the ceasefire continued on Sunday. Pakistan said its foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran's top diplomat and urged "de-escalation" on both sides. Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen since the war began, said on Saturday in his first statement since his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral that Iranians would avenge his killing in the war's opening strikes on February 28.

The latest US strikes, Iran's retaliation across the region, the attack on the Strait of Hormuz shipping route and the uncertainty over negotiations together mark another sharp escalation in a conflict that is now threatening both regional stability and commercial movement through the waterway.

With PTI Inputs

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